Auburn's start to the postseason didn't exactly go as planned in the SEC Tournament, but the early exit against Texas A&M has quickly been put in the rearview mirror for the team.
In Auburn's 67-62 loss on Friday, the Tigers shot a meager 16.2 percent in the first half and ended the game shooting 30.4 percent from the floor. The No. 1 seed Tigers trailed by as many as 20 before Wendell Green Jr. helped lead a comeback attempt that simply ran out of time.
The issues that have recently plagued Auburn — 3-point shooting and inconsistent guard play — were once again big issues against the Aggies.
But now Auburn has its quadrant of the bracket. It has to take lessons from the loss and turn the page to focus on Jacksonville State and what lies ahead.
"You know, I always tell my teammates, you know, great teams don’t lose two games in a row," Green said. "So, you know, we have that mindset... But we’re ready. We’re not going to let one loss take us down."
Auburn learned on Selection Sunday that it will open up the tournament against 15-seed in-state Jacksonville State on Friday in Greenville, South Carolina.
With a win over the Gamecocks, Auburn would play the winner of the 7-seed USC vs. 10-seed Miami matchup on Sunday for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
"It’s a four-team tournament every weekend, so we’re just going to prepare and get ready for that," Green said.
After a "disappointing" showing in Tampa, point guard Zep Jasper echoed a similar sentiment to Green.
"The way we flip the script is by putting that game in the past. Everyone is 0-0," Jasper said. "Coming into this game on Friday night, it’s going to be a game full of emotions. A game full of playing hard and just going to have guys who just want to give it their all."
For Bruce Pearl's squad, defense has been a big strength of the team throughout the season en route to a 27-5 record and the first 2-seed in program history. But going into the tournament, Pearl wants to see his team take that up a notch as it looks to improve and reach a new level.
“Our defense has carried us," Pearl said. "Our defense is going to continue being really good, and we’ve got to build on our defense. Defense and rebounding win championships. Our rebounding hasn’t been as good; that’s got to be something we’re going to have to improve on.
"And offensive execution, and that includes being able to shoot the basketball, make better decisions with the shots we take. Those are the three things I think we need to be able to do in order to start playing our best basketball.”
For sophomore center Dylan Cardwell, he sees a simple path to getting back to how Auburn played earlier in the season: Play hungry.
"I feel like we need to find that hunger again and be some junkyard dogs like the beginning of the season," Cardwell said. "That’s the biggest difference between then and now. But we’re right back to that mentality."
Auburn's round one matchup against Jacksonville State is set for 11:40 a.m. CT on TruTV. The game is in Greenville, South Carolina, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
